FBI: 'This domain name is subject to both civil and criminal forfeiture'

Two San Francisco-based escort websites were shut down by the FBI and the IRS on Wednesday and the sites' two alleged proprietors appeared in federal court, accused of facilitating prostitution and money laundering, according to the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office.

The sites, MyRedBook.com and SFRedBook.com, advertised free listings for services ranging from massage parlors, strippers, dominatrixes and escorts throughout the western U.S.

But U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag's office argued in a nine-page indictment released Wednesday that the sites were used primarily for advertising prostitution in violation of state law.

The site's two alleged proprietors -- identified as 53-year-old Eric "Red" Omuro of Mountain View and 40-year-old Annemarie Lanoce of Rocklin -- are accused of facilitating prostitution using interstate communication and laundering more than $5 million in revenue from the sites since April 1, 2010, according to Haag's office.

"It’s crazy," neighbor Debbie Day said. "I had no idea -- (it's) just weird that it's right here in an apartment complex. We just say hi here and there, that's it."

The sites would charge fees for premier placement of ads and for "VIP Membership" to access special services on the site, such as private forums and better search features, according to Haag's office.

Omuro is accused of using numerous aliases to move funds from the site into his control.

The indictment seeks the forfeiture of more than $5 million in assets including accounts at four different banks, investments, a BMW and a Mini Cooper.

The FBI conducted several raids Wednesday morning connected to the case, according to FBI spokesman Peter Lee. One of the locations was the 200 block of Houghton Street in Mountain View, an address apparently associated with Omuro.

The two made an initial appearance in the federal courtroom of U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins in San Francisco, U.S. Attorney's spokeswoman Lillian ArauzHaase said.

Omuro was released on $500,000 bond and is due back in Judge Cousins' court at 9:30 a.m. Friday.

A status conference is scheduled for July 10 before U.S. District Judge William Orrick, the trial judge assigned to the case.

Sex-worker advocates expressed concern that the seizure could affect sex workers' livelihood and safety -- including those doing legal work.

She said in addition to providing listings, MyRedBook enabled sex workers to talk to clients before meeting them and to talk to other sex workers about potential clients for referrals.

The site contained both a public forum and a private forum just for workers.

"Clients on the site would need references," and a good reference from another worker was an indication that a particular client was safe to see, she said.

"Taking the site offline means that type of networking and resource sharing is pushed further underground," Morgan said.

While other websites offer similar services, there is nothing remaining like MyRedBook, Morgan said, as others charge a fee to create listings and operate on a national scale.

Kristina Dolgin, a spokeswoman with the Bay Area chapter of the Sex Worker Outreach Project, said the loss of MyRedBook as a free resource for sex workers could put an already marginalized community further at risk.

"They're going to have less safe interactions and be put into situations where they can be put at risk of violence," Dolgin said. "To those who can't afford switching to another website, this is completely detrimental."

Some members of the Sex Worker Outreach Project are consulting with attorneys out of concern that the FBI's targeting of MyRedBook could lead to charges filed against them.

Dolgin said the FBI might have gained IP addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and other personal details of sex workers.

"It's a very scary thing," she said.

The site has previously been used as a law enforcement resource for investigators targeting pimps and human traffickers. Officers have posed as clients or offering services in order to arrange meetings and make arrests.

In that regard, as word spread Wednesday of the site's shutdown, advocacy groups responded.

Courage Worldwide provides the only residential home for victims of sex trafficking in the Sacramento region.

Founder Jenny Williamson said many of the people the organization helps are children who once appeared on MyRedBook.com.

"When you see pictures of 12- and 13- and 14-year-old girls being dressed up like women and being sold as if they are merchandise on a website, it is sickening," Williamson said. "This (is) one of their tools, the trafficker's tools, that has just been taken away."

INVESTIGATORS SAY ONE OF THE PEOPLE RUNNING THE CONTROVERSY OS COURT WEBSITE WAS -- ESCORT WEBSITE WASN'T LIVING IN ROCKLAND. THE FBI SHUT DOWN THE WEBSITE. IT IS PART OF A LARGER INVESTIGATION INTO CHILD PROSTITUTION. MALLORY HOFF WITH MORE ON THE WOMAN WHO IS FACING CHARGES. THE ARREST TOOK PLACE AT AN APARTMENT COMPLEX IN ROCKLAND UP THE ROAD. I SPOKE WITH A MAN WHO WATCHED THE WHOLE THING GO DOWN. HE TOLD ME HE KEPT SAYING TO INVESTIGATORS WHAT DID I DO? THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION IS IN A NINE PAGE INDICTMENT. IF YOU LOG ON THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL FIND. I NOTICE THAT READS THIS DOMAIN NAME HAS BEEN SEIZED BY THE FBI. AGENTS SHUT DOWN THE SIDE AFTER SEVERAL ARRESTS AND RAIDS. THE SITE IS LINKED TO SEX TRAFFICKING AND PROSTITUTION. BOTH HAVE MULTIPLE ALIASES. CHARGES ALLEGE THEY WERE INVOLVED IN MONEY LAUNDERING AND RACKETEERING. NEIGHBORS WATCHED AS OFFICERS SURROUNDED THE ROCKLAND APARTMENT. WHEN WE CHECKED NO ONE WAS HOME. NEIGHBORS SAY SHE SAT ON HER BACK OR TO OFTEN. I HAD NO IDEA. IT WAS WEIRD THAT IT IS RIGHT HERE. ON IPASS I HEARD SHE STARES -- WHEN IPASS SHE STARES AT ME. IN MOUNTAIN VIEW AGENTS RAIDED HIS HOME BELONGING TO HER. AS WORDS BREADS OF THE SITE SHUTDOWN ADVOCACY GROUPS ARE RESPONDING. THIS IS ONE OF